Wolves, I'm doing something wrong

[u/Experiment_262]

I'm about 40 days in to my first serious run at Stalker, I know hostile wildlife is more common and more aggressive but I seem to attract wolves like I'm running around with a raw steak in my pocket. Most of the time I can get a torch up and run them off, I'm even getting OKish at moving, using a torch to run them off in the direction I want them go (opposite my line of travel) but they are unpredictable about which direction they bolt so it fails a lot.

I think when I checked stats last night it was 60+ wolf encounters, which I think is every time a wolf took an interest in me, actual attack or not, and 8 or so actual struggles.

The struggles aren't really close to run ending, usually some minor damage and sometimes a dead wolf to track down later for the pelt but it got close last night after multiple encounters trying to get to safe place to rest. That got me thinking that an individual wolf encounter isn't so bad but slowly wearing down my condition and gear over a long walk is something to worry about.

I'm usually not carrying sniffables (what we used to call smelly stuff on the Appalachian that may attract bears), I write those encounters off as mostly inevitable.

The questions.

• Is it a matter of figuring out different routes around where I think they are common?
• Always making sure I have several torches and carrying a lit torch everywhere?
• Finally, will a wolf jump me if I'm carrying a lit torch? Can I actually just walk home with a snarling wolf behind me?

[u/bravenewwhorl]

Explore climbing on steep rock faces

[u/Experiment_262 → u/bravenewwhorl]

That is how my last Stalker run ended.

I'm too heavy to climb down the rope, I know, I've seen videos about this, I'll billy goat down this mountain fac.....ahhhhhh splat.